


on laughter-silvered wings

by cosmogyrals



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-28
Updated: 2021-01-28
Packaged: 2021-03-13 23:00:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,476
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29036616
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cosmogyrals/pseuds/cosmogyrals
Summary: When Sam meets Riley, he doesn't even think about the possibility that they might be soulmates. But when he finds out, it's almost too late.
Relationships: Riley/Sam Wilson
Comments: 3
Kudos: 10
Collections: Marvel Fans 4 BLM 2020





	on laughter-silvered wings

**Author's Note:**

  * For [kalika_999](https://archiveofourown.org/users/kalika_999/gifts).



> Written for Kali as part of Marvel Fans 4 BLM 2020. Hope you enjoy! :)

Sam Wilson, at all of twenty-odd years old, had never given much thought to soulmates. They existed - that much was scientific fact - but they were more common in the movies than they were in real life. The bond between soulmates only kicked in when one of the two was gravely injured or near death; it was a great plot point for a sappy romance, but something Sam personally wanted to avoid in real life. And, yeah, maybe his chances of being near death increased when he made the decision to join the pararescue corps, but, he told himself, that didn't mean anything. Waiting around for your soulmate to appear was no way to live your life, and Sam didn't intend to do that.

\--

"This bunk taken?" Sam looked down from his precarious perch on the metal bedframe where he was tucking in the sheets of his new bed with crisp military precision to see one of the other pararescue candidates smiling hopefully at him. RILEY was embroidered on the patch on his fatigues, and he sported the same no-nonsense buzzcut that Sam had.

"Go ahead," Sam replied easily, gesturing to the bed under his. "But you better not snore."

Riley's face was unremarkable - that same face that Sam had seen on every other bland white boy - but, damn, it lit up when he grinned. "From what I hear about the pipeline, when they let us get some sleep, you'll be sleepin' too hard to hear me if I do." His voice had a light Southern drawl, barely a tinge compared to Sam's family in Louisiana, but it still felt familiar, a little like coming home.

Sam climbed down the frame and wiped his hands on his pants before offering the right one to Riley to shake. "Better hope so," he retorted wryly. "'Cause I need my beauty sleep."

"You got that right," Riley muttered, his voice barely audible - but pitched so Sam could hear it. Sam grinned and lightly cuffed him on the shoulder as he walked past, heading for the mess hall. Riley left his sheets on the bed and fell in behind him.

\--

"You got a first name?" Sam asked two months into training, while they were waiting for the rest of their squad to finish scouting. "Or is it just Riley?"

Riley's lips twisted like he'd just bitten into a lemon, and he hesitated before he answered. "Emmett."

"Emmett," Sam echoed with a grin. "Can't imagine why you'd go by Riley, quality name like Emmett."

"Don't you start, Wilson." Riley huffed as he peered over a low rise, shading his eyes with a hand. "You know how many assholes called me 'Emmy' in high school?"

"Gonna guess it was most of 'em." Sam studied Riley, wondered what he'd been like back then, what he'd been into in high school. Sports, maybe, although he didn't have the build of a football player. "And assume you tried to shove most into a locker."

"Figured I'd just start with a clean slate here, get everyone to call me Riley." It was a good plan, since they pretty much just used last names anyway. "Got tired of being Emmett Riley IV - I don't know how my family kept the name going so long, 'cause the first time someone called me Emmett in bed was when I swore I was never gonna use the name again."

"I can see why." Sam shook his head in mock sympathy, but all he could think about was the muscles of Riley's back rippling rhythmically as he fucked someone. "Your secret's safe with me."

\--

Sam was a bundle of nerves - not for himself, but for Riley, who'd been called to their CO's office just before lunch. He'd found out about his own acceptance the previous day, and it had made him wonder if Riley had got the other spot, or if someone from a different training group had been chosen instead. 

"You get in?" Sam asked Riley the moment he sat down at their usual table in the mess. Riley just nodded, and Sam let out a whoop. They'd both been asked to apply to the project - they were both at the top of their class - but that didn't mean they'd both get accepted. Sam knew how limited slots were, and pararescuemen were already the best of the best; this was a cut above and beyond.

"Gonna show the pilots a thing or two once we're up there." Riley grinned at Sam. "They won't be the only ones in the sky for long."

"Hell yeah," Sam agreed, reaching across the table to grip Riley's forearm in solidarity. He knew that they'd be in a combat situation sooner or later - that's what all of this was for, after all - but right now, all he could think about was flying with Riley in a clear blue sky.

\--

Sam, after his graduation from pararescue training, had two weeks of leave before he had to report back to start work with the EXO-7 project. That meant two weeks back home in Harlem with his parents - two weeks of stuffing himself with food he hadn't had in too damn long, two weeks of actually sleeping in. Two whole weeks where no one would expect him to jump in a pool or carry loaded stretchers over rough ground or any of the half-dozen other tasks he'd had to perform on a daily basis. He knew his new assignment would be harder by far, but right now, he just wanted to relax.

"I missed your pecan pie," he told his mom as they relaxed at the table after dinner. The dishes had been done, his siblings were upstairs working on their homework, and his dad was busy writing this week's sermon. It was just him and his mom sitting at the table, one of their long-time traditions. Sam loved both his parents, but he'd been closest to his mom from a young age, when she'd set him to simple kitchen tasks as soon as he could handle them. He'd grown up in the kitchen with her, always helping to cook one of the dishes that was constantly going off to someone around the neighborhood or at church. It was easier for him to talk to her; Darlene Wilson had a peacekeeper's temperament, although she also stood strong and refused to take any shit. (Sam had been swatted with her wooden spoons enough to testify to that.) 

She shook her head and tsked. "I never expected the Air Force to feed you right. Nobody goes into the service for the food."

"Tell me about it." Sam laughed ruefully. "Those MREs we had to eat in survival training were rough. I'm not looking forward to that once we get deployed."

Sam couldn't miss the way his mom's fingers tightened on the handle of her coffee mug when he mentioned deployment. He didn't blame her, not in the least. They'd had more than a few talks when he'd decided to enlist, and he knew she'd never be totally comfortable with it, that no matter how much he reassured her, she'd still be rightfully afraid of her oldest son coming home in a flag-draped coffin. Hell, he couldn't say the prospect didn't scare him, but he still knew in his gut that he was doing the right thing.

"Don't worry, we still got months of training ahead," Sam added quickly. "Gotta learn how to use those new rigs from Stark Industries before we end up in the desert."

"I think it's strange they just have the two of you." She shook her head.

"Yeah, well, probably too expensive to make any more." Sam grimaced. "Your baby's gonna be wearing millions of dollars of the defense budget on his back."

"I know what's worth more to me." Darlene leaned in and took Sam's hand. "You be careful out there, Sam. They can make another machine, but I can't replace you."

Sam squeezed her fingers. "I'll be fine, Mom," he said with all the confidence he could muster. "Besides, I'll have Riley watching my back, and he won't let me down."

"Lord, I know. Every time you called home, it was Riley this and Riley that." She gave him a knowing smile, and Sam fought back a blush. "I'm sure the two of you will be fine together."

"It's not like that," Sam protested. "It's just- we're just friends."

"Of course you are." She let go of his hand and patted it. "I understand, Sam."

\--

Sam had known that they wouldn't be allowed in the air first thing, but it was still daunting to face months of training - not just physical training (which, to his surprise, included gymnastics), but plenty of lessons. Physics, aeroscience, engineering - since they'd be the only ones taking care of their gear once they shipped out, they'd have to be able to strip it down and rebuild it on their own. It wasn't the same grueling schedule they'd faced back in Texas, but it was still a lot of hard work. Sam had never been afraid of a little hard work, and neither was Riley - that was how they'd gotten here, after all.

He was dripping sweat by the time they got geared up on their first scheduled day of flight. Never mind that Arizona was a dry heat; he was wearing enough layers that the sweat couldn't evaporate. He and Riley both had a full suit of body armor - though made from lighter material than standard issue - plus the flight harnesses for the jetpacks. The packs themselves covered their backs and soaked up the midday sun as the technician from Stark Industries went on about the safety measures they'd learned weeks ago. Sam rolled his eyes behind his goggles, and Riley just smirked at him. After all this time together, they could read each others' expressions like a book. Sam knew that if he jumped off the platform, Riley would follow a split second later. He arched an eyebrow, and that was all the warning he gave before jumping.

Maybe he should have done a proper takeoff from the ground for his first flight, but Sam hadn't gotten where he was by being cautious. His stomach dropped as he plummeted, but all those hours of practice meant that he instinctively spread the wings of his jetpack and ignited the motor - and, sure enough, Riley's whoop followed him down. Sam grinned broadly as he knifed through the sky, butter-smooth, feeling his heart pound in his chest, hearing the wind roar in his ears. Riley pulled up next to him as he leveled out, and Sam dipped his right wing to him. Sam knew then just what he'd been missing in his life, and that they'd never be able to take the feeling of flight away from him.

\--

Sam was sore. He'd forgotten what it was like to be anything but sore, his muscles strained from long hours flying patrols, every inch of exposed skin abraded by sand and constant exposure to the wind. Most of what he and Riley did was boring as hell - important, to be sure, but also dead boring. He still loved flying just as much as he had that first time, no matter how damn boring it was; he loved that thrill of adrenaline that went down his spine every time he took off, the aerobatic swoops they did whenever they found narrow cracks and crevices on their patrols, the goofy loop-de-loops and barrel rolls that Riley liked to pull off when they had a spare minute or two. That was the only variation they'd had lately, and while Sam told himself that boring was good - boring meant they weren't being shot at, or pulling off an evac mission, or clearing a staging point for helicopters to land - he had to admit that he didn't mind some excitement every now and then.

They were flying through a valley - practically a canyon, with a steep cliff face on one side - and Sam felt his left wing vibrate a little. He frowned slightly and made a mental note to check it out when they landed back at the base - and at precisely that moment, he heard an all too familiar whump from the nearby cliff.

Fuck, Sam thought, and he instinctively veered towards Riley - a move they'd been warned not to do, but hell if he wasn't going to try anyway. He rolled over in his flight path and caught Riley in the chest with his wing, throwing him off just as the missile whistled past both of them and exploded on the other side of the valley.

Except, of course, there was a damn good reason why they were cautioned against doing stupid things like that; Sam's momentum pushed Riley into the cliff face, and Sam followed shortly after. His wings crumpled as he fell to the ground - but the wings were designed as armor as much as anything else, and as he blacked out, he could only hope that Riley would be all right.

\--

"You goddamn idiot," Riley swore at Sam. Their beds were next to each other, and the heart rate monitors hooked up to both of them beeped in time. There was no real heat in Riley's voice; Sam had saved him, and in doing so, found his soulmate. Sam could feel the bond in the back of his head even now, bruised as his skull was. They'd both ended up with some fractured bones, but Sam was willing to accept that, because he sure as hell didn't want to imagine the alternative.

"You're welcome," Sam retorted. He stretched his hand out for Riley's, but couldn't quite reach through the metal frames of their beds. Instead, he just let his arm flop uselessly.

"Fuck, if I knew I'd have to almost die to get you to realize that, I woulda done it stateside," Riley huffed. "At least then we'd have some decent food."

"That's how soulmates work, dumbass." Sam threw his spare pillow at Riley, who just took it and stuck it smugly under his head. "Everyone knows that."

"Well, I knew it before. Don't know why it took you so damn long - or why you cracked five of my ribs in the process. Haven't even had a chance to kiss you yet." And that, Sam realized, was the thing that bothered Riley the most about all of it - not that he blamed him, because the feeling was completely mutual.

"We'll make up for it later." Sam turned his head to smile at Riley. Even with half of his face battered and bruised, he was still the best sight Sam had ever seen.

"I'm holding you to that, Wilson." Riley smiled at him, and Sam knew Riley was right - that he should have known earlier. But now they had all the time in the world.


End file.
